Adam McLane

Fat Adam is Weak

There’s little joy in kicking fat Adam to the curb. It’s not as simple as dragging him to the curb and waiting for the truck to haul him away. Fat Adam is old, crabby, and full of bad habits. He’s punchy. And he puts up a good fight for a fat guy.

My weapons of choice

Skinny Adam is making progress. Here’s how.

3 times per week I’m running 1.5 – 2 miles… easing up to 3.2 miles. At least 4 times per week I’m commuting to work for an additional 6 miles of bike riding. I gave up soda (pop) for lent and haven’t gone back to it. I’ve tried to replace it with water as much as possible while cutting down on easy calories like getting regular coffee instead of my favorite blended drink at Starbucks.

My drugs of choice

Fat Adam is holding on to some bad habits. Here’s what I mean.

My eating habits suck. It really isn’t how much I eat on a given day so much as when and how I’m eating it and what I snack on. I tend to skip breakfast. (Or eat something carb/sugar heavy. Like a bagel. Or a donut. Or a bagel and a donut followed by granola.) Since I skip a proper breakfast and snack all morning, I tend to not feel hungry at lunch. Which means I eat a late lunch, or eat a full lunch when I’m not really hungry, and then eat a regular dinner too.

Unless I eat lunch so late that I skip dinner and eat dinner really late. Which is super bad.

The result? I’m feeling much, much better but I know I could be doing a lot better. Muscles are noticeably stronger. My lungs and heart feel much stronger. And I don’t fatigue on my runs nearly as soon or as bad as when I first started.

But my eating habits are holding me back. I can feel it when I’m out pounding the sidewalk.

While this whole thing isn’t just about weight, I’d feel a lot better if I could drop some of the weight. I’ve lost weight. My clothes all feel more loose. Which is awesome!

The plan for July. I’m not a fan of diets. But there’s a connection between what I eat and how much progress I can make and I need to make that sacrifice. My fancy plan? I will eat breakfast. Not just a cup of tea. (Which is what I like!) I’ll eat– at least an orange or banana… something that isn’t a bagel.

Posted

in

by

Adam McLane

Tags:

, , , , ,

Comments

10 responses to “Fat Adam is Weak”

  1. Peter Marin Avatar
    Peter Marin

    Finding small victories in small choices along the way has helped me steer around the those habits that are too easy to follow … all the best in your efforts!

    Reply
  2. Tim Avatar
    Tim

    Research has shown that people who exercise consistently experience healthier and longer-lasting weight loss than those who exercise/diet together or only diet. Keep up the good work; I enjoy reading about it

    Reply
    1. adam mclane Avatar
      adam mclane

      Thanks for the encouragement. That’s exactly my plan. I don’t want a crash diet that throws my body into a yo-yo. I’m taking a long lens approach to this. Long term healthy living is going to be the result of incremental change. At least for me.

      Reply
  3. Maria Meachum Avatar
    Maria Meachum

    Adam, another thing that may help is more protein. since I got the Lapband I have to drink some of my protein and for the same amount of money I was wasting on frappacinos I get a bottle of Isopure punch (there are many flavors.) in each bottle is 40 grams of protein. That is more than half what we are supposed to get every day although carbaholics tend to only get about 30 grams a day. I find since I don’t really like breakfast I drink that in the morning and maybe have a yogurt or something small. That gets me through the day. Protein is key to weight loss and muscle development. Since I dropped some of my weight I have stopped having Acid reflux, my asthma has been absent, and I don’t even seem to be suffering any allergies despite the abundance of pollen. Keep up the fight. Your family needs you.

    Reply
  4. Mike Farmer Avatar
    Mike Farmer

    Adam, I needed to modify my diet because of my eyes. I needed to cut red meat (maximum of once a week). I needed to increase green veggies. Kathy and I started shopping at Whole Foods mainly for their fish and organic veggies. Although a farmers’ market is also a good source of veggies. Since I have high blood pressure I needed to be under the care of a doctor to paricipitate in the eye study I am in. So while taking care of my blood pressure with a simple medication she recommended I lose weight. I was just under 300 pounds. Her suggestions end up with a slow weight loss, which as I understand is the best. Recently I wanted to start tracking my calories and I found this outstanding iPhone app called “myfitnesspal” (there is a web site of the same name). This has helped me track what I am eating and spot places I can modify. I still eat well and enjoy what I eat. I still eat out since the app lists the calories for most places and products. Like you I get exercise several times a week. I have been on a fairly steady weight loss.

    Reply
  5. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    If you have/make time, bacon and eggs are a great breakfast. It doesn’t sound great because somewhere bacon got a bad name, but two slices and three eggs a re great breakfast. Through in some black beans and salsa and you will feel full most of the morning.

    Reply
    1. Jeff Goins Avatar
      Jeff Goins

      I think I’m going to make that breakfast for me tomorrow. Delicious.

      Reply
  6. Barb Brinker Avatar
    Barb Brinker

    Good for you Adam. I also gave up pop for lent and so far have not gone back. I drink or unsweetened ice tea. After reading your post, I’m going to give this eating breakfast a try. Not really big at eating breakfast, first thing in the morning, but maybe I just have to get used to it. Is stoney your running buddy?

    Reply
    1. adam mclane Avatar
      adam mclane

      Yep, Stoney is my running partner. He wishes it were every day instead of every other.

      I’m hoping that getting to 3 squares and no snacks is gonna help. It can’t hurt!

      Reply
  7. Becky Avatar
    Becky

    Become a regular exerciser has changed my life for the way better. I still struggle with eating habits–I’m a sugar addict and a stress eater, but when I’m following an eating plan, I do much better.

    Reply

Leave a Reply